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The primary purpose of a grille is to allow air to flow through and cool a car’s engine. Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) don’t have engines as such, so they don’t really need grilles. The bits that need it can be cooled in other ways, because they’re not all stuck right up at the front of the car.
But most BEVs still have grilles anyway, and that’s kind of weird. How come? The obvious answer is branding. Or style. Which are the same thing in the car world when you think about it.
The grille has been a key element of most internal combustion-engined vehicles for over a century, so carmakers have taken that need for a great big hole at the front of the car and turned it into a branding opportunity. You can generally tell what kind of car you’re looking at… by looking at the grille.
So even as carmakers have embraced BEV technology, they’ve tended to keep grilles. Even those brands with zero ICE-history: the first Tesla Model S had a faux-grille and though it’s been downsized and reshaped, there’s still a suspicious T-shaped slat on the latest Model S and Model X.
The original Nissan Leaf had a totally smooth front, but the second-gen model has actually gained a grille-like indent as it strives for a more mainstream look.
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Arguably the brand best placed to transition to a sans-grille BEV future is Porsche. The rear-engined 911 has established an instantly recognisable look that’s easily replicated by the Taycan.
BEV “grilles” can do other things of course. BMW has made its iconic kidneys bigger than ever on the pure-electric iX, but as a solid, self-healing “intelligence panel” that houses all manner of sensors.
The Jaguar I-Pace has an especially large grille (because Jaguars do, right?), and at least part of it is functional. Get on your knees and look through the top: you’ll see daylight because the grille is part of the aero package that directs air through the bonnet, over the roof and down again into the rear roof spoiler. It’s also why the five-door “fastback” I-Pace doesn’t have a rear wiper: that airflow is supposed to keep the rear screen clean.
Keyword: The Good Oil: Why do Battery Electric Vehicles have grilles?